EAST STROUDSBURG — Night-shift workers were punching out at 6 a.m. Tuesday when federal immigration agents swarmed into Iridium Industries and ordered, "Everybody into the lunchroom," a witness said.

Eighty-one workers were under arrest by the time the raid was done at 11:30 a.m.

They came from Mexico, Ecuador, Indonesia and Malaysia, according to Ernestine Fobbs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Iridium Industries makes colorful plastic squeeze tubes for customers like L'Oreal and Victoria's Secret. The company has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Iridium has received more than $9 million in public assistance since it opened in 1999.

The raid was focused on a temp agency that supplied workers to the plant, not on Iridium itself, said plant manager Wayne Migliaccio in a statement e-mailed to the media.

"(ICE) Special Agent Jason Rundell's first words to me were, 'You are not the target here. You are the victim,'" Migliaccio wrote. "Rundell said that the raid was aimed at one particular temporary employment agency which was operating in the area."

Officials have not identified the agency.

But an Iridium worker told the Pocono Record that "the owners, everybody there knew those people are illegals." The employee said illegal immigrants have worked at the plant for at least the past five years.

A former Iridium employee confirmed that information, saying the company has high worker turnover and "very few" legal workers.

The employee recalled a day when all workers were photographed for company badges. Each had to show personal identification.

"(The illegal workers) all had out-of-state driver's licenses from all different states," the worker said.

Iridium pays $6 to $10 per hour.

The sting began with complaints to Monroe County CareerLink.

"We had a few remarks from past (Iridium) employees who said something fishy was going on," said John Casella, CareerLink director.

Stroud Area Regional Police helped conduct surveillance on the company before Tuesday's raid.

Twelve of the detainees, all women, are in Pike County Correctional Facility in Hawley. The woman are there through the jail's contract with ICE to house immigration detainees for a "nominal" fee, said Assistant Warden Jonathan Romance. He doesn't know how long the women will be there.

"It could be two minutes from now, it could be two years from now," he said. "They have to go through the process."

There was no confirmation on where the other detainees were taken.

Fobbs of ICE said the 81 workers were taken into custody after interviews determined they did not have proper documentation to work in the United States.

Fobbs declined to say what could happen to the company.

"It's an ongoing investigation," Fobbs said. "It will take its course."

Iridium Industries was open for business Wednesday. The plant operates 24 hours a day and is closed on Sundays only.

"It's not our purpose to just shut down a company," Fobbs said.

The workers face deportation. Fobbs said the workers can request a hearing before an immigration judge if they feel they can produce documentation.

The process can take from a few days to several years, depending on how far the worker pursues it, Fobbs said.

Iridium bought the former Web Dynamics building off Exit 51 of Interstate 80 in 1999 and received a tax-free bond of almost $3.5 million approved by the Monroe County commissioners. The company employs 130 workers.

Iridium later got a $660,000 low-interest loan from the state to create 30 jobs. The loan helped pay to expand the company's building on its eight-acre property.

The company is owned by Eli and Jack Sassouni.

Pocono Record writers Andrew Scott and Michael Sadowski contributed to this report.